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Earth - quake

Writer's picture: Gamze BulutGamze Bulut


Did you feel it? Yesterday evening we all heard a very loud noise; as if my treadmill fell down, or a tree knocked over, or my garage door collapsed on the floor. I went out to see what was going on, and noticed all neighbors were outside wandering around.


In the middle of the night, we had an aftershock. My daughter woke up crying that “She is not enjoying this life”. This would have made perfect sense in California maybe, but we live in Virginia, where it is very rare to have earthquakes. We started thinking about what a quake is, how can I teach my children why it happens, how can we be better prepared. 


I stopped by the grocery store and the cashier was asking me if the government officials can warn us saying that “An earthquake is coming”. I told her that “This is not possible”. But it would not hurt to be prepared and watch signs from our pets.  Now I am watching my birds to see if they will act weirdly in panic, and trying to listen to neighbor's dogs for a stressed barking and behavior to collect hints for another quake. 


Earth, in general, seems to be very quiet. Flipping the letters, earth is “the art”. Astronomically, though, it is far away from being quiet, it moves at massive speeds, rotates and drifts. As humans, we crave for stability. Stable earth, stable job, stable family, stable relationships. Similar to an earthquake, any quake in our supposedly stable lives shatters us. 


I noticed this two times in my life. Once when I decided to wear a hijab in college, and once when I decided to take it off in 2022. Outfits put you into certain social statuses that is more rigid than you would expect, especially when it comes to a hijab. Perfect physical condition that allows us to survive/thrive in a stable environment, still suffers if we are in an unstable psychological situation or experience social questioning/rejection.


This might seem selfish when part of Los Angeles is burning with wild fires. I pray for them and hope for a speedy end to the fires. These both are instances where we notice how our power is limited to only our arms' reach. Yesterday, when I was trying to get out of the house, I had a hard time collecting three kids inside the house. Even within "my arms reach", it is beyond my control. All these sink again to remind me of how weak we are as human beings. Hopefully the quakes and fires will settle off and disappear without further damages. 



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